


Gotcha!

by xRabbitx



Category: Warcraft (2016), Warcraft - All Media Types
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bromance to Romance, Khadgar is bae, LionTrust, M/M, Swearing, Warcraft spoilers, for srs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 08:50:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7308286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xRabbitx/pseuds/xRabbitx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Khadgar finds himself in a real shit situation and could really use a hand. Anduin is happy to provide.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gotcha!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lurlonde](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lurlonde/gifts).



> This is NOT part of a my series [The Lion's Trust](http://archiveofourown.org/series/485537)! It's a standalone story.  
> Also, it was slightly (read: 100%) inspired by [this post](http://threekegs.tumblr.com/post/146330960478/like-what-if-theyre-on-patrol-or-something-then), so now you know who to thank/blame.
> 
> As always, this hasn't been beta'ed, so there might be typos orz

~*~

  
  
The night in Tirisfal Glades seems darker than in Stormwind, and Khadgar grasps the reins of his horse a little tighter. It’s not like he’s afraid of the dark, because he’s a grown man and Anduin is trotting along by his side, but… it’s a strange land full of strangers. The people of Lordaeron seem more—he doesn’t want to use the word uncivilized—but they’re definitely not like the noble people of the once shining capital of Stormwind. They seem more frayed, tougher, like their edges haven’t yet been blunted. One time when Khadgar bumped into a man in the main square in Lordaeron City, he half expected to see a cut on his arm where they had touched. The landscape around them is tougher, too, with its windswept grass fields, dark woods, and weathered rocks and mountains. The worst thing you could encounter in Elwyn Forest is a boar, maybe a something more sinister if you venture too far south, but here… Khadgar has no idea of what dangers that lurk in the dark forest of Silverpine, but he has heard people talk about giant black wolves and, even worse, creeping spiders so big they can cut you in half with their pincers. Khadgar shudders.  
      “What’s up with you?” Anduin asks next to him. “You cold?”  
      “No, I’m fine,” Khadgar replies, trying hard to suppress the shuddering.  
      “Don’t tell me you’re scared. I told you not to listen to that drunken old man the other day. There’s no such thing as giant spiders.”  
      “I know, I know,” Khadgar mutters with a huff. “But what about that silk thread he was waving around? It looked like it was made b—”  
      “That could have come from anywhere,” Anduin interrupts. “People like him love that attention a good fairytale will get him.”  
      “Not many fairies in that tale.”  
      “Look,” Anduin halts his horse, “if you don’t want to be out on patrol with me, you should ride back.”  
      “No, no, it’s not that.”  
      “Then stop acting like a scared, little boy. I’ve seen what you can do. There’s nothing here but a few drunken idiots and a couple of bears, maybe. Nothing you can’t handle, kid.”  
Khadgar swallows and nods. Ever since they had to flee Stormwind, Anduin has acted differently towards him. The Anduin that wouldn’t help him up after taking a beating from Medivh seems far away, and instead, Khadgar has come to know an Anduin who’s still rough in his ways, but also patient and warm.  
      “Let’s get moving,” Anduin says, and they continue their trot. When they pass the gates of Lordaeron City, they’re met by a rather harsh, cold wind. The road in front of them winds and twists down the hill upon which Lordaeron City sits. It’s flanked by bare fields of tall grass with a few trees here and there to break the strong wind. Below the hill, far out there in the darkness, they can see the lights of the village of Brill. Khadgar has only been there during the day where it’s like most other small villages where the marketplace and the tavern as the main places for social interaction. However, as they ride closer, Khadgar can tell from sound of raised voices and harsh laughing that the village probably isn’t going to feel as friendly tonight. They take the main road into Brill, and even from the edge of the village, Khadgar can see hanging around the entrance to the tavern. Some are talking animatedly, some are brawling, some are puking in the bushes.  
      “We won’t stop here,” Anduin mutters as they get closer. “We’ve gotta go all the way out to Stillwater Pond before we can turn around.”  
      “Right,” Khadgar says, trying to sound braver than he feels. He has never been comfortable around drunken people, something which he solely blames on his father who would come home late at night, shouting about family honor and forcing the 5 year old Khadgar out of bed to hear him recite the words of old spell books. It’s probably the main reason Khadgar doesn’t like to drink.  
      “We just need to follow the main road here, and—” Anduin doesn’t get to finish, because he’s interrupted by a beer mug that flies right past his cheek, barely missing him.  
      “What the hell?” Anduin growls and stops his horse to climb off it. “Wait here, kid.”  
Anduin stalks over to the group of brawling men outside the tavern. Khadgar can hear him shouting about watching where they’re throwing things. Even though they have only known each other for a few months, Khadgar has accumulated impossible large amounts of respect and admiration for Anduin. How a man can move on after losing his son and two of his childhood friends in such a short time, Khadgar has no idea, but it goes to show what kind of a man Anduin is, putting the wellbeing of his people over anything else. Khadgar watches Anduin argue with the men, completely lost in thought when something happens that violently jerks him out of his daze. The argument between Anduin and the men escalates to the point where one of them throws a punch at Anduin and another brawl breaks out. Khadgar is just about to come to Anduin’s aid with a well-placed frost nova when another mug is thrown. It doesn’t hit Khadgar; it hits his horse. The horse whinnies loudly and rears, causing Khadgar to almost fall off, before it takes off down the road with Khadgar clinging on for dear life.  
      “Easy, girl, easy!” Khadgar shouts, but shouting isn’t the best way to calm down any living creature, and the horse just seems to panic even more. The panicked idea of casting a spell flies into Khadgar’s head, but he doesn’t want to hurt the horse, so he just presses his eyes shut and urgently whispers to the horse to slow down. But the horse doesn’t slow down. It gallops further and further away from the tavern, passes the graveyard and continues out of the village.  
      “Stop! Stop right now!” Khadgar tries to command, and the horse finally stops. Khadgar just have time to be relived for a second before he realizes that it wasn’t him that made the horse stop. They’ve gotten far enough away from Brill that the noise of the brawl isn’t loud anymore, but instead it has been replaced by a low growling. There, right in front of them, is a wolf. Its ears are turned back, its teeth are bared, and its head is lowered, ready to pounce at any moment. Khadgar’s horse is completely still for a moment, then it rears, and this time, Khadgar doesn’t manage to hold on. He tumbled off and lands with a hard thud in the grass. He gets up just in time to see his horse flee, leaving him alone with the wolf. He doesn’t like killing, human, animal, or any other living creature, but the wolf doesn’t seem to share this sentiment. It slowly advances on him, and Khadgar can see the muscles in its shoulders tense, getting ready for the final jump at him. Just then, Khadgar’s brain kicks back into gear, and he raises a hand to hurl a ball of bright blue light at the wolf. The spell doesn’t really do anything except daze its victim for a second, but it’s enough to scare the wolf which he purposely misses. The wolf yelps and flees the scene, tail between its legs.  
      “And stay away!” Khadgar calls after it, grinning with relief. The feeling only lasts a few moments, though, as he looks around and realizes that he is alone in the middle of a dark nothing. Thankfully, Brill isn’t so far away that he can’t see its lights, so he draws his cloak tighter around himself as he starts walking back. Everything is quiet out here except for the wind and the occasional howl of a wolf it carries with it. It’s freezing, and Khadgar picks up his pace, half-running along the road. He has to stop, though, when he reaches a fork in the path. There used to be signs, he can tell, but the writings on them have been slowly ground away by the harsh weather. He can still see Brill in the distance, but he can figure out which path to take. They both seem to lead towards Brill, but one of them might veer off into something nasty, and Khadgar doesn’t want to suddenly find himself hips deep in a marsh.  
      “You lost?”  
Khadgar jumps and turns around to see a man walking towards him. Where the man came from, Khadgar has no idea, but he seems to be friendly.  
      “Yeah, uh, I’m trying to get back to Brill, but I don’t know which road to take,” Khadgar says with an apologetic smile. “Do they both lead to Brill?”  
The man smiles at him.  
      “Yer not from ‘round ‘ere, are ya?” he asks, tipping his hat back a bit.  
      “No, I came from Stormwind.”  
      “Ahh, ruddy shame ‘bout Stormwind,” the man says with a sigh. “Went there meself when I was just a boy. Most glorious city I ever laid eye on.”  
      “Yeah, it was beautiful,” Khadgar says, then awkwardly shifts his weight a bit. “So, the way back to Brill…?”  
      “Oh, right,” the man says with a laugh and points to the left road. “That one’ll take you back.”  
      “Thank you so much,” Khadgar says and holds out a hand for the man to shake. The man takes Khadgar’s hand—the man’s hand is rough and almost twice as large as Khadgar’s—and shakes it, but when Khadgar wants to pull his hand back, the man holds on.  
      “Very soft hands, ya got ‘ere. Not a farm boy then?” he asks, making Khadgar feel very uncomfortable.  
      “No,” he says and licks his lips. “Not a farm boy. Can I have my hand back now?”  
      “Oh, right, certainly,” the man says with a grin and releases Khadgar’s hand. “Safe travels now, lad.”  
Khadgar doesn’t reply, but simply hurries along the road. Once he’s sure the man is out of sight, he shudders and wipes his hand on his trousers. There was something off about the whole thing, but Khadgar is in too big a hurry to get back to worry too much about it. At one point, he’s sure he hears the sound of a horse galloping past in somewhere out in the dark, but there is nothing to see and Khadgar just wants to get back and find Anduin as fast as possible. 

~*~

  
  
Khadgar breathes a sigh of relief when he spots the first houses of Brill a bit further down the road. He speeds up to a slight run, but as he passes the first house, someone grabs his wrist and forcefully tugs him off the road. Khadgar yelps, but it’s mostly muffled with a large, rough hand that covers his mouth. A strong arm grabs him around the middle, forcing his back up against an unfamiliar body. The voice Khadgar hears next is not unfamiliar.  
      “Gotcha,” the man behind him breathes against his ear. “Thought I’d just let ya run off like that? Such a pretty, little lad like you? Fancy lad from Stormwind, flinging magic and probably has his pockets full of fancy Stormwind gold, eh? Yer right daft if you think I’d let that pass me by.”  
Khadgar struggles as best he can, but he instantly freezes when he feels the cold blade of a knife glide along his throat.  
      “Lad must be quiet, see,” the man breathes. “Otherwise ‘e’s gonna get ‘is pretty, little neck slit, and we don’t want that. Would be a cryin’ shame to bleed out such a tasty treat.”  
Khadgar can feel his dinner turn in his stomach, and swallowing hard is all he can do to keep it down. He can feel the blood flush his face, making it feel burning hot as fear and disgust slowly takes over his body.  
      “Now, what should I do first, eh? Should I take ‘is money and then have my fun with ‘im? Or maybe the fun should come first?” The man’s breath stinks, and Khadgar lets out a muffled groan when he feels the blade on his throat slice through just the first couple of skin layers. Not dangerous, but enough to make him bleed. There is nothing he can do. Without being able to say his spells, he’s paralyzed, helpless. Khadgar whimpers and presses his eyes shut, feeling the warm tears spill down his cheeks. His eyes are still closed when a loud, bestial roar makes the man suddenly release him and jump away. Khadgar’s knees buckle and he sinks to the ground, curling up in the grass while still keeping his eyes forced shut.  
      “Listen, mate, it was just a bit of fun!” he hears the man say, voice shaking, but another roar cuts through the night air, then the sound of a sword being swung. Khadgar feels a splatter of something warm hit his face. Then everything is quiet save for the sound of heavy breathing. Khadgar is frozen in place; he can’t move, and he can still smell the man’s breath on himself. The heavy breathing somewhere above him slowly calms down.  
      “Kid. Hey, kid, are you okay?”  
The familiar voice makes Khadgar open his eyes, and he looks up at Anduin. His face is lit up by the moonlight, and Khadgar has never been happier to see anyone in his entire life.  
      “It’s just—he tried to…” Khadgar tries to explain, but the words get stuck in his throat, and all that comes out is a strangled sob.  
      “Hey, hey,” Anduin kneels down helps Khadgar up to sit. “You’re fine. You’re safe now.”  
Khadgar swallows and nods, but his body isn’t convinced yet. The man is lying behind Anduin on the ground; his head is lying a few feet away. Anduin hands Khadgar a handkerchief to wipe the man’s blood off his face.  
      “Come on, let’s get you back to the city,” Anduin says, pushing to his feet and helping Khadgar up.  
      “My horse. It ran off,” Khadgar says, voice still trembling.  
      “That’s fine,” Anduin says softly. “It knows the way home. We’ll share mine.”  
Anduin helps Khadgar climb up first, then follows him, settling right behind Khadgar with one arm curled protectively around him. As they ride back through Brill, everything is quieter; a few men are sitting on the ground outside the tavern, nursing what looks like black eyes and broken noses. Khadgar doesn’t care. All he cares around is the feeling of Anduin’s strong, solid body pressed up behind him. He is still trembling when they pass the gates to Lordaeron City.  
      “Should I follow you to your room?” Anduin asks climbs down from his horse and helps Khadgar.  
Khadgar shakes his head.  
      “I think I need a drink,” he says.  
Anduin nods, then puts a hand on Khadgar’s shoulder to follow him to the inn. It’s nice and warm inside, and Anduin shows Khadgar to a small booth in a corner, away from the rest of the patrons, before getting two brandy from the bar.  
      “Cheers,” Anduin says after he’s sat down next to Khadgar and handed a glass to Khadgar.  
      “Cheers,” Khadgar says quietly and downs the drink in one go. It burns all the way down to his stomach, making him shudder and his eyes water.  
      “What happened?” Anduin asks after a while in silence. “I turn around and suddenly you’re gone.”  
      “It was—someone threw a mug and spooked my horse,” Khadgar explains, trying to keep his voice steady. “It ran off with me, and I couldn’t get it to stop.” He stares down at his hands as he explains the rest of the story.  
      “That fucking bastard,” Anduin growls darkly when Khadgar has finished the tale.  
      “I just—I know you said I could handle anything, but—I couldn’t handle this. He covered my mouth, and I—I just felt so helpless. He could’ve killed me right there, and there was nothing I could have done about it.”  
As Khadgar speaks, tears star trickling down his cheeks again, and it makes him angry.  
      “I’m so damn useless,” he huffs, but before he can say anything else, Anduin takes his face in his hands and looks his directly in the eye.  
      “Listen to me,” Anduin says softly, leaning closer. “You’re not useless, okay? You’ve more than proved yourself. If it hadn’t been for you, none of us would have been alive today.”  
Khadgar grimaces, but Anduin strokes his thumbs over his cheeks.  
      “I’m serious.”  
Khadgar wants to argue, but he can’t, because a second later, his mouth is covered with Anduin’s lips. The kiss is soft and hesitant at first, but it slowly turns more insisting, and Khadgar’s eyes flutter closed as he forgets everything about what happened tonight. 

~*~

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own none of this.


End file.
